China and Russia on July 17 firmly denied President Trump’s accusations that they interfered in U.S. elections, with officials in Beijing and Moscow calling the claims baseless and pointing to past US investigations that found no evidence of foreign meddling.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters that the U.S. allegations “have no factual basis and are intended to vilify China,” adding that “similar accusations were long ago proven to be unfounded.” Lin said China “has no interest in interfering, nor has it ever interfered, in American elections,” and turned the criticism back on Washington, asking who has “conducted indiscriminate surveillance of governments, businesses, and the general public worldwide?” He urged the U.S. to “reflect on its own behavior: stop the unwarranted vilification of China; stop making China an issue in its elections; and behave in a manner more conducive to stable U.S.-China relations.”
Separately, a Chinese Embassy spokesperson, Liu Chang, said China “has all along adhered to the principle of non-interference in other’s internal affairs…[and] has never and will never interfere in the presidential elections of the US.” The U.S. election outcome “is determined by the votes of the American people.”
